Export Manufacturing in Small Island Developing States

The literature suggests that small island developing states (SIDS) are at a disadvantage compared to their larger counterparts. While larger countries have pursued manufacturing for exports, SIDS have typically focused on commodities, financial services, or tourism. This study explores selected macroeconomic factors and their influence on export manufacturing in SIDS. Using a panel autoregressive distributed lag (ARDL) framework, we find that GDP positively influences manufacturing exports in the Asia-Pacific region and that trade openness is important to resource-rich and Caribbean SIDS. We also find evidence supporting the presence of Dutch disease among the Caribbean and resource-rich SIDS.